sportsWikipedia490 BCE; 1896–present · Marathon, Greece
The marathon's 42.195 km distance was standardised only in 1921, after decades of variation
The marathon is a 42.195-kilometre foot race, usually run on roads, though trail routes are also used. It takes its name from a legend of a Greek runner, Pheidippides, who was said to have run from the battlefield at Marathon to Athens to announce a victory over the Persians in 490 BCE. The French philologist Michel Bréal proposed a race based on that story, and it became one of the original modern Olympic events in Athens in 1896. The distance was not fixed until 1921, after earlier races varied widely in length. Today more than 800 marathons are held worldwide each year, mostly with recreational runners.
The race is run on public roads or trails with mass starts, timing chips and course marshals. The distance is fixed so that world records can be compared, and wheelchair divisions run alongside. Runners often use run-walk strategies to manage fatigue over the full course.
The marathon shows how a modern sport can be built on an ancient story that historians treat with caution. Its standard distance came from practical compromises at the 1908 London Olympics, not from ancient tradition. That history explains why the race is now both a mass participation event and an elite benchmark.
Adapted from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
Image: Wikimedia Commons
